Musicians enhance authenticity of performance
Alumni students, teacher perform songs in newest theatre musical Rock of Ages
Math teacher Derek Hamm steps away from the band and begins to join the rest of the cast on stage and performing his guitar solo in the front of the entire crowd.
January 5, 2017
Unpredictability is one of the exciting aspects of live music.
There’s something magnetic about watching a live musician perform in front of an audience as they hang there waiting to hear the next note that they play.
That’s what theater director Brad Distlehorst was looking for when he decided to assemble a band of Akins musicians to play the music for the recent production of Rock of Ages. Using a prerecorded track of the music just wouldn’t cut it, he said.
“Just the difference in having live music and seeing the band playing and corresponding with the actors and singers, it just brings a whole other level of excitement to the show instead of just playing a track and faking live music,” Distelhorst said.
The band practiced for the show almost everyday after school. Distlehorst said he was very pleased with how well these band members work together.
Besides the live band, Rock of Ages featured many different Akins performers including dancers from the Diamond Dazzlers dance team, with music performed by a live band and choir, and choreographed by the Diamond Dazzlers.
“We made sure we didn’t have to hire any professionals, we wanted to keep it all Akins students,” Distlehorst said.
Besides two alumni and one teacher, the band was made up of Akins seniors like Julianne Tran on keyboards, Aranza Aurrecoch on bass guitar and Zach Finney on saxophone. Finney also served as the conductor of the band. Ulises Chavez, who graduated in 2015, played drums and Ruben Castro, who graduated in 2016, played second guitar
Senior Boulder Sheffeld was originally cast to play lead guitar, but when he was not able to perform a day before the play was set to open, Distlehorst scrambled to find a replacement.
Distlehorst recruited math teacher Derek Hamm to replace She eld in the play. Hamm, who plays guitar, said it wasn’t easy to replace Boulder because he doesn’t read sheet music. He also had to learn 21 songs in a single day before the show was scheduled to start.
“They couldn’t find anybody, and it was coming down to the wire and we needed someone who could ll in last minute, and so I ended up taking the part,” he said. “It was hard because there are 21 songs and most of those songs are split into multiple songs, each of those are split up into different keys for different people singing.”
Although he didn’t get to perform in the play, Boulder did serve as a tutor to Hamm on how to play each song, providing tips on how to prepare for the show.
”It was stressful,” Hamm said. “At first I didn’t know if I was gonna make it, but he really made sure I was ready for the show. I’m just proud that I can help them put on the show they’ve worked so hard for. If it wasn’t for Boulder I wouldn’t have even come close to being ready to play in the band.”
Distlehorst said Hamm helped ensure that the show would go on without wasting money on hiring a professional, and maintaining an all Akins cast and crew, just as initially planned.
“It was kinda crazy at first but luckily we came across Mr. Hamm to help us out and he jumped in and we wanted to keep Boulder in as much as possible, but unfortunately it didn’t work out that way,” he said. Distlehorst said he was impressed to see how quickly they came together as a band despite never having played music together before.
“I really enjoyed seeing their growth and how well they’ve come together with the little amount time they had, and seeing how much they can read o of each other already,” Distlehorst said. “I’m really impressed with everything they’ve done. Boulder has impressed me more than anyone with his leadership. It’s really amazing to see all the leadership skills that come out of the students.”
